RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) - A facility that converts nonedible poultry byproducts into proteins has sued an Arkansas city claiming that its property is being unfairly targeted by an odor ordinance enacted in 2015.
Premium Protein Products purchased its 36-acre plot in June 2015, a month before the ordinance in Russellville was enacted, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (https://bit.ly/2qx9Zz6 ) reported.
The law prohibits bothersome odors in the city’s limits. Violators can be sued or fined up to 1,000 for a single offense.
Premium Protein Products said the ordinance jeopardizes the plant’s commercial viability and that the city lacked the authority to impose the ordinance.
The lawsuit contends that the measure violates the Arkansas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution because it’s “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” and denies the company due process.
“The Ordinance will have the effect of putting PPP out of business because the Ordinance makes it impossible for PPP to operate the plant in an economically viable manner,” the lawsuit alleges.
Mayor Randy Horton said the ordinance, which is currently being revised, was created for residents who complained about odors emerging from other rendering plants that have occupied the space. He said the ordinance was drafted before the company purchased the property.
“We’ve done about all we can to work with them,” Horton said.
Horton said the ordinance’s purpose is to allow “the citizens of Russellville to be able to enjoy their property - which in some cases is even 2½ miles away from the plant.”
___
Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.